IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
by Sara Nublas
Summary: In the middle of a sudden storm the team members walk through the night facing different situations. It's time for fairy tales, new friends and secrets. Friendship and humor. All team involved.
1. Chapter 1

_This was intended to be a one shot, but it became bigger than I first thought so I will publish it in chapters. _

_But before uploading everything I'd like to know what do you think, opinions, criticism and comments are always very __welcome and __precious to me.  
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_There will be characters and facts that I borrowed from 'the Swan'; the two stories are not related, I just liked those hints and wanted to develop them, but at that time they just didn't fit there, so I do it now._

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IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

Emily 

**I raised my head. The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the utmost ends of earth flowed somber under an overcast sky … seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness –Joseph Conrad-**

She stares out of the window in middle of the night. A stranger invited her to have a coffee in a place in the middle of nowhere, it's desert and dark inside; she takes a better look, this cafeteria is scruffy, she definitely doesn't want to have a coffee here. It's the kind of place where she expects a horror movie to take place or the team to go for a deviant homicide. It's raining outside, a lot, it's pouring, even though she doesn't have an umbrella she is dry, she wonders how she managed to get in here without getting soaked. The guy, he's hot by the way, leans toward her from the opposite side of the table they are sitting at "The reason why I got you here is that I have to tell you a secret" he whispers. A truly annoying draft of air on her neck is making her frozen, she turns to understand where it's coming from before the hot guy can tell her the secret and she wakes up rolling in her bed.

Obviously it was a dream, a weird one. She would never accept a coffee from a stranger in a stranded filthy place, and when the hell could she find the time to meet a hot guy and go on a date with him? She left the window opened when she finally crawled up in bed few hours ago and outside it's now raining cats and dogs.  
There's something about the noise of car tires driving through the rain, a particular feeling she can't describe. It's a mixture between wanting to stay wrapped into a warm blanket all day with a hot chocolate watching a Bette Davis' movie, and craving to run outside and feeling the rain on her skin, and feeling she's alive. Pretty much Emily Prentiss style, always compartmentalizing and struggling for balance, displaying self-control as it is required by her job and deceiving the extreme sides of her personality: the lazy and the crazy.

She looks back at the bed after closing the window, the cold blow of air woke her up, now she's not going to sleep again, this is definitely one of those moments when she would like to have someone in her bed to come back to, someone who holds her and keeps her warm and safe.

She leaves the bedroom and starts roaming around the house like a caged animal, trying to find some shelter from this sudden uncomfortable feeling. It's not the first time, it happened already, but she hasn't found the way to fight it back yet. It's a devouring hollowness, a hammering question haunting her: what is the ultimate purpose of Emily Prentiss? Not that she is not satisfied with her job, she loves it but what else does she have? What's left to her, aside from sleepless nights and frantic days chasing unsubs?

She looks back to the first years in the FBI, when once asked whether she had husband and kids, she used to answer that in that moment she was focused on her career and family would arrive later. Now she would like to go back and ask her younger self to quantify the notion of 'later'. Now that over ten years have passed still she doesn't have a family or kids and when she is asked she jokes about the scarcity of viable donors left, but deep inside she knows that being a profiler, work and family are an out-out, a mutually exclusive condition and Emily Prentiss is lost without her job.

In those moments while her lazy side curls up in despair and is caught by a wave of panic, her crazy side screams 'What are you doing? Standing still, without doing anything? Wake up lazy bitch! Go out, do something crazy and totally wrong and enjoy it, just for the pleasure of being alive, just because it's so wrong and it feels so good. Just because.'  
Typically those moments are like chocolate cravings, which arrive in the middle of the night when everything is closed and she has either to keep her urge hanging or wander around the desert city to find an open grocery. She feels so pathetic right now.

Eventually, she resolves. Tonight the crazy is taking over. Life is not going to wait for her forever, and if the house isn't provide any comfort, then a run will.

_Clean the body, clean the mind. _

She looks at the clock: 3.30 am, _the best time for a run_. Then she looks out of the window at the gloomy clouds rushing into the sky and the flood down in the streets, _and also the best weather_.

As soon as she crosses the main door of her building the cold air and a spray of rain stop her, she takes a step back. Being miserable under the rain or at home? No way she's going to back out, she started something, she's going to finish it. If a serial killer cannot stop her from doing her job, _four drops_ won't dissuade her from jogging.

"Fasten your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumping night!"


	2. Chapter 2

Derek 

**You are who you pretend to be, so be careful who you pretend to be -Kurt Vonnegut-**

He leaves the pub, while Rossi and Reid are still inside. They look at him like if an alien abducted the real Derek Morgan and substituted him with a clone.  
He decides to walk, he's definitely far away from his apartment but he's not in a hurry and needs sometime to clear his thoughts, away from the confusion of the bar and the dissertations of Reid, maybe some fresh air is gonna help.

The night with his colleagues didn't turn out to be the distraction he needed and at this hour he's too tired to put up the Derek Morgan's-always-cool mask, so here he is, walking in the almost desert streets under this troubled sky. Something is going on with him lately, something he has to come to term with. He couldn't mark the moment when the crack began to open if you asked him, he just knows that at some point he realized that he wasn't anymore the Derek Morgan people saw when they looked at him. The player, always flirting and running after fun and flings, the impulsive agent who chases unsubs without thinking twice, who kicks down doors and plays the alpha male of the situation. For sure he knows when he started noticing that a radical change, and not a transitory phase, was taking over. It was when a nine year old girl allowed herself to cry in his arms after living one of the most traumatic experiences, something a child should never take.

Over the years coming back to an empty apartment has become more and more difficult, he started asking himself what he really wants to do with his life, beside his job that despite all the sacrifices is for sure the only thing out of discussion that he would never give up. Honestly now he couldn't care less about occasional sex and short term relationships; obviously feeling the excited glances pointing at him when he walks around the streets or he's having some drinks at a bar always pleases him and he's happy to play along for a while, but he never envisions this going anywhere further that a mere flirtatious conversation and maybe a couple of drinks. Back in time these flings were exactly the kind of thing he needed to relax and take a break from the horror he sees everyday, now something has changed. There's a hole growing in his chest and the job, the work on his properties or the occasional flings are not helping to fill it anymore. This hollow needs to be fixed with commitment and purpose, with someone to be there for, another human being to commit to on a long term, but this is not exactly something you find overnight and especially not with the job he does. If only it was a simple question of willpower.

The storm comes all of a sudden; he barely has the time to run under some roofing before the cataract floods the city. Few other people join him under the improvised shelter, among them there's this couple. He watches the way they look at each other, the hints, the reciprocal smiles, signs of a secret code built up throughout the quotidian of details only the two of them share and know. He misses this degree of intimacy with another human being, he misses waking up and feeling the warmth of another body beside his, who will not run away as soon as the sunlight filters through the window. He chuckles thinking of how the definition of playboy is now inappropriate for him considering the last time he had a date.

Suddenly a movement caught with the corner of his eyes interrupts his thoughts. A woman running, no jogging under the flood. The profile looks familiar; no, it can't be, she has definitely a lot of hidden sides and surprises in her hat, but this is crazy. He shakes his head resolving that he really works too much if he starts mistaking people around the city for his teammates. Nonetheless he follows her with his gaze and for a moment their eyes meet. "What the hell, I'll be damned" he sighs in recognition. She has definitely gone nut.

He finds himself soaked, running after her. He doesn't know what his intentions are, but it definitely feels good to do something crazy just for the sake of doing it.

Without reasons, without questions, without logic.

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_this was short, but I will update soon :)_

_Enjoy!  
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	3. Chapter 3

Emily

_**Some people walk in the rain some others just get wet -Gerar Toye-**_

As soon as she puts a foot out in the storm she gets drenched and frozen. Drops run on her neck down to her back, her clothes get soaked and stick to her skin. Guess the label "Fast Dry System" on her running gear applies only for less extremes conditions.

_It's not the job in itself, but dealing with the aftermath of their cases to be so overwhelming. For the guys it's different, male bonding comes more easily. A beer at the pub in front of the game, a couple of comments on the nice waitress who can't stop looking at you and that's done. You had the booze, the fun, the chat and the ego boost. You can go back home thinking "the hell, I'm almost 40 and I can still have some real fun and I still look damn attractive"._

A taxi passes by and raises a tsunami that she dodges at the last second, not that it would change significantly the situation…

_Since JJ got married and had Henry and Garcia got serious with Kevin things have changed. JJ literally runs to her son and husband at the end of the day and Garcia is really busy in either making hers and Kevin's schedule fitting or absolving her godmother's duties.. No mistake, Emily is happy for them more than anyone else, but this makes her the elder woman in the group and the only single one, which is pretty pathetic. _

She vigorously steps in a puddle, now the water really comes from all the directions.

_When once she brought on the subject, Garcia and JJ started providing suggestions, counseling or proposing awkward blind dates, which is what she doesn't need. So she just stopped talking about that._

From time to time she spots people waiting under a roofing or other improvised shelters; at one point she thinks to recognize a familiar face, apparently the rain makes her delirious. And in any case this is not the situation in which she would like to meet any of her friends, especially him. Her desperate and lonely, totally soaked up, jogging under the rain on a Saturday night (technically a Sunday morning) and him in the company of friends or of a beautiful woman, with his killer smile and a spotless outfit. No, definitely her ego doesn't need this right now.

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_I know I said all the team is involved and so far I have been writing just about Morgan and Prentiss, but be patient. They're all coming, very soon :)_

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Umpf! as usual I forgot. DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything to the tv show Criminal Minds_

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JJ and Penelope 

**Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and we cannot live within – James Arthur Baldwin -**

"Oh JJ! I am so sorry we are camping here at your place, but someone decided to go green today and not to take the car" Penelope sends fire looks to Kevin who is quietly chatting with Will on the sofa and doesn't even notice her sharp comment.

JJ smiles amused at the technician acid observation "Don't worry Pen, we are glad to have you here and tomorrow we can sleep as long as we want. Moreover I wouldn't to let you venture out in this storm even if you had a car, the streets are flooded and the visibility low, it would be dangerous." Then she gets closer with a malicious grin "Besides the guys are chatting down there in front of the television, and Henry is sleeping so we can finally have some real gossip"

The magic words wash all the moodiness away from the technician face, her eyes glowing and an eager smile surfacing on her lips "I am all yours" she turns to her friend.

JJ walks with her toward the window to have more privacy from their respective significants –in some way it looks like a scene from a Jane Austen novel, some ladies chatting secretly while walking around the living room of a mansion in the English countryside- "You remember Jordan Todd?" JJ starts.

"Of course she replaced you during your maternity leave, cute but there was something off about her. This air of first of the class and her way of flirting with Morgan, probably it was just jealousy or the fact that you are irreplaceable, or whatever. But fortunately you are back now"

JJ laughs, "Well, anyway. Wednesday morning I was walking out of the cafeteria and I saw her clearly flirting with…" her mouth fells opened while she leaves her sentence suspended, she furrows and her eyes start following a point out of the window.

"You saw her with whom? JJ? JJ, you ok?" Garcia questions in an impatient tone, she wants her gossip, now! The only answer JJ manages to mutter is a confused moan and her finger pointing something that's happening outside in the rain. When Garcia turns disoriented in the direction JJ is indicating, she spots the familiar profile of a brunette running -no, jogging- under the storm and an even more familiar athletic sculpted man running after her. Both the women lean, sticking their noses against the window, to follow in the distance the scene until the two runners vanish behind a corner; then they turn to each other, silently wondering whether they exaggerated with the alcohol tonight.

"Was he? Her? Were they?"

"Ah, ah?"

"Did we just see Prentiss jogging under the storm and Morgan running after her?" Garcia finally blurts out.

"It appears so," JJ confirms still incredulous looking at the window, "unless you added pot to your banana bread"

"That's better than gossip. Real time news!" Garcia chirps excited.

"What were they doing? I mean…" JJ forgot how to assembly a coherent sentence.

"Okay, let's be rational. No one, mentally stable would ever go out jogging at this time of the night with such weather… But still I wouldn't assume mental stability when it comes to a profiler.."

"Yes, but what were they doing together?" JJ insists.

Garcia's eyes widen and she starts shaking frantically her hands "Oh my God, oh my God! They were on a date?"

"Well if so, it must have been a hell of a boring one if Emily started running away under the flood" JJ comments sarcastic.

"Uh, yeah you are right. And it's impossible to get bored with Morgan, and there are much more interesting places where I would take it further with him…" suddenly Garcia lowers her voice lest Kevin can hear her, that man has an insane _unmotivated_ jealousy for Morgan.

"But do you think they could…?" JJ goes on inquiringly.

"Well, Morgan is definitely hard to resist, and Emily is one of the few women who can stand up to him.."

"Yes but they are just good friends, right? And we are co-workers"

"JJ" Garcia looks at her from above her glasses "me and Kevin, you and Will, Rossi and half of the female agents working at the FBI …"

"That's a good point." JJ is now pacing back and forth thoughtful, a finger thumbing on her lips and the other hand on her hip.

"Have you ever noticed something?"

"Nooooo. And she never told us anything"

"That wouldn't surprise me. Emily's good at keeping work and private separated. Even though compartmentalizing Derek Morgan, wooo, that's a tough job" Garcia reckons.

"Okay, but do you think they could? And if so, when did it happen?" JJ is shocked; an unstoppable gossip machine has awakened in her mind.

"I don't think nothing has started yet, but now that I think of it, there are no reasons why it couldn't happen"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about that. If you asked me one year ago I would have answered 'no way!'. But Morgan has changed a lot in the last year. He's more mature, he still likes to play the womanizer card, but I don't think he truly believes in it anymore. I think he's ready for a more serious situation and Emily is definitely relationship material"

"…and they always pair together"

"…and they banter flirtatiously"

"…and she's is this combination between smart and tough, a graceful tomboy" JJ concludes

"Holy crap!"

"What?"

"JJ, I think we might have the news before they even realize it! This is more than gossip and real time news together. This is ahead-of-time-gossip!" the technical analyst concludes in a triumphant shriek..

"Honey you okay?" William questions JJ from the other side of the room. Both guys casting questioning glances to their partners.

The two women come back to stare out of the window and exchange impatient glares.

"Tomorrow you call Derek, and I cover Emily" JJ finally whispers the plan she's come up with "We don't hang up until we find out what's going on between the two of them"

The deal is sealed by a nod.

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_Ok, and that's the rest of the team slowly joining the party._

_I hope you are enjoying and I would be happy to hear what do you think about it.  
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_So far thanks for reading and reviewing!  
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	5. Chapter 5

_Thank you for reading and reviewing so far!_

_Here it comes another piece. Later than I expected, but work and study came in the way..._

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Derek and Emily

**Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your hearth. –Anonymous -**

If Prentiss has never been an antelope she definitely runs like one. He gave up calling her name after the third attempt because between the noise of the rain and the iPod she's probably keeping at loud volume there's no way she will hear him. Eventually she slows down to a walking pace, and he can finally cover the distance between them. She startles when he reaches her and pats on her shoulder.

"Are you planning to run a marathon?" he asks, not knowing where to begin with the questions.

She looks at him incredulous "What? Where? I? Morgan you are wet through!"

"Cunning observation Agent Prentiss. It's raining. And we are running under the rain. You are jogging under the rain, on a Saturday night!"

Here it comes. Of all the people she could meet, in all the possible situations… Why she never gets anything right? "Right. I couldn't sleep and… well I've always been intrigued by the way a meteorological event like a drizzle can upset someone's plans, so I thought to act out of the schemes and do something _different_" she answer placing an unruffled expression like if she's just enunciated the most evident piece of reasoning ever.

"_Different_" he echoes her raising an eyebrow, "Well, for sure it is different and more than out of the schemes it's out of mind" He chuckles looking at the way she tries to maintain a composure. Emily Prentiss is pretty much an exception to every woman he has ever met before. She can be stubborn to the point of seriously getting on his nerves but she's definitely among the most intriguing and resourceful people he knows. She always stands up to his jokes and she can shift from damsel to kick-ass mode in a clap. This woman can be a maze to him and when he thinks he has finally figured her out, she comes out with something totally unexpected; after almost five years he got to the conclusion that there's much more under the surface than what is displayed on the façade, much more than he will probably ever manage to uncover. He just figures that with this kind of woman you know where you start the ride but not where you finish it. Giving up the control over a situation is something he's not used to, something that intrigues and unsettles him at the same time, but anyway he has never seriously juggled with this scenario because Emily is a colleague and a friend whose company he enjoys a lot, nothing more.

She looks at Derek's astonished face, he's soaked from head to toe, so she eventually cracks a smile "Okay listen, my apartment is few minutes away, let me offer you a coffee and a change of clothes, so you will explain to me what the hell are you doing out in the storm at this time in the night"

He's baffled "What am I doing? I was following a colleague gone crazy and running half marathon under the storm!" he points out while they start walking side by side.

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Morgan has never been at Prentiss's apartment, so when she opens the door his attention immediately goes to the big window framing the tempest over the capitol, lightning in the sky "Wow, this is something" he exclaims moving through the living room.

She smiles at his marveled reaction, she has actually never considered that given his interest for renovation and architecture he would have liked her house, but even so how to put it "Hei Morgan, wanna take a look at my apartment? I think you might like it" Despite there's nothing particularly dodgy in it, she would manage to make it sound awkward.

They agree in continuing their conversation after hot a shower, the effects of running under the rain start to manifest. Emily has some male clothes that should fit Derek size, an ex left them here ages ago and never claimed them back. She takes the smaller bathroom and leaves the master bathroom to him, mainly for the pleasure of boasting about her Jacuzzi later on.

Emily has always wondered if there is a situation in which Derek Morgan would ever feel uncomfortable. He has got this charm, this smoothness in getting through everything that never fails to leave her speechless. As much as she enjoys his company, his capacity to switch from light-hearted to serious in seconds, his dedication to his job and the restless care for his people, she also feels a shade of uneasiness when she's with him as if in someway his spotless demeanor makes her feel even clumsier. During her first times at the BAU it had been easy to misjudge him considering his beautiful features and his popularity as a player, but soon she realized there was so much more to him. Even now when he indulges his attention on her she welcomes their moments with a hint of surprise and disbelief, wondering what the hell can he find so interesting in her company.

He comes out of the bathroom bare chest putting on the sweater while coming down the stairs, was she doing such a move she would lose balance and roll down all the way even though she knows every centimeter of her house; he's been in her apartment for twenty minutes or so and he already moves around with perfect confidence. Besides the confidence obviously she doesn't fail to notice his sculpted body; it's been ages since the last time a man put feet in her apartment and walked around half naked and then this demigod shows up, and he's a good friend and a colleague and everything else is out of discussion. Life is cruel.

Emily leaves the counter with two cups of hot coffee and joins Morgan at the window. He can sense some tension, guesses she doesn't like to give much of herself unless she decides and plans to do so; which is fair enough. He likes her taste, he likes the house and the way she moves in it. Despite she's the owner she hasn't given it a personal touch yet and she walks around as if she was floating, almost tip-toeing, likely the consequence of an existence spent moving around the world and walking on eggs. He notices the piano near the window, "Do you play?" another of the many secrets of Emily Prentiss.

"Yep, I cannot practice as much as I would like, but I do play" She frowns at his surprised face "You don't believe me?"

"I do, I just didn't imagine it" he smiles relaxed, much more relaxed than her.

Silence, she weighs whether to talk or not. "My father is an orchestra director. He used to teach me and passed me the passion. After he left us I went on playing"

Morgan stares at her, in years she has never mentioned her father, he actually assumed he was dead. Apparently he was wrong, "Are you still in touch?"

"If by being in touch you mean that he sometimes remembers to let me know in which part of the world he's living and even more sporadically he sends birthday cards, regularly mistaking the date, then yes we are in touch. We reached this kind of truce in which he doesn't pretend to care more than he really does and I achieved to move from feelings of extreme grudge to kind indifference, it's less energy consuming for both of us".

And here he would like to say a million of things, that she deserves much more attention and care and love, that she shouldn't accept compromises nor stop being upset at her absent father, that she's worthy of love and affection, that he always has the impression that she downscales herself and tends to give more than she receives but this doesn't have to be the rule, things could be different if she only let people care for her, but this is not his place and profiling co-workers is unprofessional. So he tries to convey all his understanding in a look. He is however grateful for this confidence, she doesn't easily give out information about herself, probably because despite her sarcasm it hurts, so he appreciates that she is sharing this piece of life with him.

At this point he also feel confident in asking the real question that's stuck in his mind, hoping this time to get a serious answer "Prentiss, what the hell were you doing running under the storm at this time of the night?"


	6. Chapter 6

Hotch 

**That's what it takes to be a hero, a little gem of innocence inside you that makes you want to believe that there still exists a right and wrong, that decency will somehow triumph in the end – Lise Hand -**

Hotch is working late on some paperwork as usual when the light goes away. The storm has probably caused a momentary black out. The wind is really strong, he stands to look out of the window and sees the tops of the trees swinging frantically; the noise of the wind gusts crashing against the windows produces rhythmic thuds.

He goes to get a torch in the kitchen and when he comes back there is a little orange pumpkin hiding behind his desk. The little pumpkin is squeezing a teddy bear in his hands and looks at him with big scared eyes.

"Jack what are you doing still up? Do you know what time is it?" He sweetly addresses his son.

"The light went away" he whispers, stepping forward.

Hotch can't hide a smile looking at the big pumpkin portrayed on his orange pajamas, a Halloween present from his aunt.

"..and I need to pee" he says with a guilty expression on his face.

Hotch chuckles "Well, then we'll need this one" he smiles indicating the torch and takes Jack's hand.

"Is that a special torch of the FBI?" the child asks, he's going through a phase in which everything his father does, or says or touches becomes invested of some special super-hero power.

"It's a special torch, yes." Hotch plays along "when you use it nothing bad can happen to you. But it's a secret, alright?"

Jack looks up at him serious and nods, promising his silence. Then moves toward the door of the bathroom saying with a proud smile "I knew it".

Once back in his bedroom Jack climbs up in his bed and looks at his father with begging eyes "Can you tell me a story daddy?"

"And then you'll go back to sleep?"

The kid nods again in promise.

"Ok, then" Hotch sits on the side of the bed, secretly grateful for this father and son moment. Traveling so often which such random schedules doesn't leave much time to spend with his son, many days he gets home and he's already asleep, as a results he doesn't manage to be as present as he would like and anyway it will never be enough to sooth his guilt feelings "which story do you want to ear?"

"A story where you catch the bad guys"

Hotch smiles and poses a kiss on Jack's head, he asks himself if this admiration his son has for him and for his job will lead somewhere good in the future. If ever Jack decided to follow his footsteps, what would he do? Would he encourage him to accomplish his dreams or dissuade him from a life of sacrifice and deprivation, from a job which will eat him up? He decides to think about that later and enjoy the moment for now, "Fine, there was a beautiful princess who used to live in a castle in the middle of the woods. She was rich, beautiful and intelligent, but she felt really lonely. One night there was a huge storm, like the one we are having right now…"

"Did the light go away even in her castle?"

"Uhm, yes buddy, even there. Everything was pitch dark. But the princess didn't notice it because she was asleep. All of a sudden the window got flung open by the wind and she woke up. There was a voice coming from the woods calling her name and asking her for help. Of course the princess knew that going out alone in the middle of the night to a desert place was not a good idea, but that voice carried by the wind, asking for help charmed her and she decided to go and check what was happening and if someone was in danger. She dressed and she left the castle, she didn't know that the charming voice belonged to an evil witch who wanted to steel her beauty and her courage. The princess started running under the rain, the forest was dark and she couldn't see where she was putting her feet. Eventually she arrived in front of a beautiful and colorful hut, a line of smoke was coming out of the chimney and that voice was coming right from there. So she thought to enter and ask for some hot chocolate and also meet the person who was calling her name. When she entered the door closed suddenly behind her, an old lady smiling and offering a tray with biscuits came closer, she seemed a nice and gentle granny, but the princess could see that there was something off in her eyes. Suddenly the nice voice became a dreary and scary pitch and the nice granny turned into an ugly and terrifying witch. The princess was in big troubles, but right when she thought that everything was lost a knight came to rescue her. He was strong and fast and didn't allow the witch to get to the princess. The witch understanding that she couldn't win against the brave knight ran away and the knight took the princess back to her castle. There the princess rewarded him for saving her life offering him clean clothes and a hot chocolate, in that moment the storm finally ended and the sun arose again. A new day arrived and the sun was shining and everybody was happy including the princess who had learned a very valuable lesson and also met a new friend."

"The knight was an FBI agent undercover, right?" Jack asks with his eyes wide open in expectation.

Hotch is startled at first at that question, then he chuckles and with a surrendering smile answers "Yes, Jack. He was an FBI agent, with a vest and a badge."

Jack smiles reassured, then another question arises "Can the name of the knight be Aaron, like you daddy?"

"Yes, I guess. Yes the knight's name is Aaron" he says a bit uncomfortable in defining himself as a brave knight.

"Then the name of the princess must be Haley, like mommy" he adds settling in his father's arms.

Hotch smiles, a tear running on his cheek, for one second he concentrates hard on a dream he made many times, a dream in which the good knight overpowers the bad reaper and saves his only true love, and they all live happily ever after.

"Yes, I think it's a perfect name for our princess" he says hugging Jack and kissing him gently on his forehead. The kid is already halfway asleep and Hotch decides to stay there a little bit longer, watching over him until the good dream come to sooth his pain, until the light comes back.

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_Thanks for reading so far! Please don't give up right now and let me know what do you think :)_


	7. Chapter 7

Derek and Emily

**The golden rule is there aren't golden rules – George Bernard Shaw – **

"You're not leaving without a convincing answer, right?" rhetorical question to which he doesn't even bother to answer, he goes on staring at her instead.

She sighs moving to the sofa "I have these strange dreams.."

"Nightmares?" he sits besides her but keeping a distance.

"Not necessarily, but really intense. That kind that is difficult to get rid of once you are awake" she stares at her coffee only occasionally casting him a glance, more to check his expression than to engage eye contact, god forbid.

"What do you dream about?"

"It's irrelevant" it comes out blunter than she expected, "it's not the content of the dream, it's the feeling that stays with me once I wake up. Like a compulsion"

"A compulsion?"

She lays her cup on the table and nervously rubs her hands on her thighs, then she gets up and takes a few steps back and forth brushing a hand on her forehead. How much to give up of herself? This is a big slice of her what-lies-beneath-the-surface side to give away and even though she trusts Morgan blindly, she doesn't know if she is comfortable in feeling so vulnerable with him.

Derek frowns lightly at her reaction but waits patiently for her to feel ready to talk; in this moment he cannot help noticing the gulf between the woman and the profiler, the first so frail and unpredictable, and the second so determined and self confident; he figures her blunt sense of humor is the result of an attempt to merge these opposite sides of herself. He wonders if she's _just_ unaware of the charm she radiates or if she intentionally hides herself.

Emily stares at the void biting her lip, finally she comes back to sit, closer this time "Do you ever wonder what are you doing with your life? I mean really, aside the job. I wonder if the project of a stable and fulfilling private life is something I go on postponing just because I don't have the guts to admit that I can't afford it with this job or if it just hasn't come along yet, but eventually will. There's so much to live and to do, but our job, which I love, takes over all the time. So when it's too much my way of coping with it is doing something crazy, like jogging under the cataracts, just because. Just to feel it, to remember that I am alive, that I can still run and laugh and cry randomly, no reason why. Just because it's wrong and it feels so good to cross the rules, sometimes. Do you ever feel that? Or am I crazy?" she hasn't realized to be so close and now she can feel his breath.

"Prentiss, I don't know if you will ever be able to have a family, but I do know that whoever finds you will be an overly lucky man." He says with that husky voice and that way to look at her which make her feel that no secrets can be kept from him "As for the burden of the job, we all need a way to relieve the stress, but this should kick in before we are nearing the edge. I guess breaking rules once in a while and doing something crazy is fun and helps, just take care not to hurt yourself…or get a pneumonia" he answers arching lightly his lips, and there's one rule that he's dying to cross right now, such a wrong and delightful thought that it requires all his willpower not to take that step. "Sometimes I realize the person I've become is so distant from the Derek Morgan people describe, and I don't know when did this happen"

"Derek, I don't know who you or the people expect, but I look at you and I see a friend that I trust and respect a lot. A loyal, brave and compassionate man, who is always supportive with the people around to the point of putting himself on the line. I guess the woman who finds you will be really lucky" she smirks gently posing a hand on his.

Something about this moment feels so right and so wrong to both of them. They are walking a thin line, offering words of comfort and friendship to each other, but the feeling that is subtly creeping up their minds and the electricity they feel now is much more than that and it's not gonna take much before they cannot ignore it anymore.

Were they strangers, or just not colleagues, the night would end in a very different way, but again they keep their professional demeanor and soon he leaves; staying would mean to take a step they are secretly and unconsciously craving for but not quite ready yet. He hugs her before going away and she welcomes his warmth and his strength of his arms around her, of his body being so close. She can't remember the last time someone held her, the last time she felt accepted, wanted and protected. She can't remember the last time she opened up to a man who afterward didn't run away scared.

At the end of this night they feel a little bit closer in a way they can't tell if it's right or wrong, but definitely feels good.

* * *

_Another pair of chapters and the story will be over, hopefully before Christmas.  
_

_The chapters are quite short I know, but they're not intended to be more than snapshots and I want to keep the characters separated._

_Thank you for reading and thanks a lot to those who took the time to write a review. :)  
_


	8. Chapter 8

Rossi and Reid

**My mother says girls can sense when men are changing. When you are ready certain types of girls, the right kind of girls, will find you. It's only when you are ready though. – Spencer Reid -**

Reid has been momentarily disappointed and baffled when Morgan has left. Rossi instead has taken notice of his behavior; it's not that he scrutinizes his colleagues, but he is the oldest member of the team and sometimes he feels the responsibility of looking after them and relieving partly Hotch of his _fathering_ responsibility toward the team. Something has changed in Derek demeanor since the first time they met. He's abandoned a lot of his stubborn arrogance, he's less impulsive and demonstrated his value through his choices and actions. He proved to be a leader while replacing Hotch and to be faithful to the team when he stepped back at his return. Under this aspect Morgan is a lot better that he was at his age, blinded by his ambition and complacent. But the guy needs to chill out a bit in the personal life; if he goes on like this soon not even demolishing and rebuilding the all real estate in DC will be enough to compensate his excess of testosterone. He definitely needs a woman, and not a lame fling like the two girls who approached him before. He needs a real relationship with a real woman, he just has to acknowledge that he is capable of keeping a story for a long term and that rules are made to be bent sometimes. And obviously he needs to damn open his eyes, he is astonished by how such a smart guy can be so oblivious in front of the evidence of facts, and the denial of the counterpart is not helping very much. Those two will drive him crazy some day.

"Your friend is gonna take it all" A female voice brings him back.

"Excuse me?" he replies confused to the bar tender, a beautiful blond woman, with a foreign accent.

"The storm, haven't you seen outside? It's raining cats and dogs"

"Go figure, that might help him to clear his mind" he jokes back with a smirk.

"A lost soul?" she inquires.

"I don't know if he's lost. Definitely he's myopic"

"Mmh, sounds like a woman is involved in this picture"

Rossi chuckles "Yes, and unfortunately she's not less myopic than him"

"God makes them and then coupling them"

Rossi laughs back nodding "Where's this accent coming from?" he asks

"France, Paris. I left twenty-five years ago, but I have never lost it"

"Don't! It's lovely"

"I'm Natalie" she smiles reclining her head on one side and extending a hand.

"Dave" he smiles back, then she has to go back to take care of the other clients and he returns to his colleague rolling his eyes at the scene. _What's wrong with these new generations? Either they don't know how to choose the right women, either they don't know how to interact with them at all._

Reid has been approached by two girls, one more outspoken and definitely more interested has blond long locks and blue eyes, high heels and a long, black shirt, apparently she has forgotten her jeans. Another thing Rossi doesn't get is fashion, he's really not sure people understand that the real charm is not related to the way you dress or undress in this case; and the annoying conversation the blond is carrying on is a pretty evident demonstration of his theory. The other girl is a brunette, straight hair to her shoulders, blue lively eyes, she doesn't seem particularly interested in the conversation, nor by Reid, she's probably tagging along. Reid is almost oblivious of the interest the bond has for him and doesn't seem particularly at ease.

"OMG! This is gonna be the storm of the Century" the blond squeaks in a skittish tone.

"Actually" Reid suddenly comes back to life, being able to deliver information and thus feeling in his comfort zone "the storm of the century and one of the worst the US ever experienced, hit the Eastern States in 1993. It was a massive cyclonic storm whose arms reached Canada and Central America. Alabama and Georgia were covered by roughly six inches of snow and further South over sixteen inches of rain were recorded, along with thunderstorms and tornadoes. The northeast received up to 3.5 feet of snow and storm surges twelve feet high were recorded. In all 300 lives were taken. I don't think anybody is dead tonight, not from the storm anyway…"

The girl stares at him almost scared, definitely she was not prepared to receive a lecture in extreme meteorological events when she approached him. Now she is probably thinking of an elegant way to get away from this conversation. Rossi rolls his eyes and get closer in the effort of giving some support to the younger friend who is for sure a genius but when it comes to women is a disaster.

"According to which parameters are you reasoning?" a sparkle revives the distract brunette.

Rossi freezes in a presentiment whose consequences he's not sure is going to like.

Reids hesitates a second, he's not used to be questioned.

She takes advantage of his silence and goes on, a smile arising on her lips as she speaks "You can consider the intensity of the storm based on objective scales, or the intensity of the damages to people and infrastructure or the amplitude of the area affected. In this case you are obviously prioritizing the number of fatalities which is understandable under a social point of view, but scientifically speaking is a pretty lame and uninformative approach"

Silence from Rossi, whose presentiment has been confirmed, and is not sure he can cope with two geniuses in the same room at the same time at this point of the night with his glass empty.

Silence from the blonde who got lost a long time ago.

Silence from Reid who didn't see it coming, but who gets it over soon and picks up the challenge with enthusiasm "What you say is right. But from a scientific point of view we should also debate on the different scales of classification used and on the pros and cons of each one. At that point we should decide whether to adopt a weighted approach or if to prefer a scale over the others…"

Rossi takes a couple of steps back and leans against the counter, head in hands. He tries to recall why he accepted a night with colleagues in first instance.

"Another round?" Natalie comes to rescue him.

"Yeah, it's very needed"

"It seems your young friend found company down there" she smiles handing another glass of whiskey, the right one, without even having to ask for it.

"Yes he did. As you said God makes them and then coupling them" he raises the glass cheering before taking a sip of golden bliss.

After this night was not such a bad idea...

* * *

_Thanks for reading and thanks to those who took the time to review! I appreciate it a lot._

_A note: I am not American and I don't know a lot about storms in the US, I did some research about the strongest storms of the century and I hope the information I found are reliable, but who knows... So in case I wrote something wrong I apologize in advance._


	9. Chapter 9

What's left of the night...

The dawn is approaching and the storm is over. Rays of sunlight reflect on the wet fallen leaves and into the puddles turning the streets into carpets of silver and gold; the city is immersed in a suspended calm. The storm cleansed the air, and brought a chilly wind. A lot happened and a lot is yet to come.

Someone met new people, some old friends disclosed unexpected secrets, some found hope and comfort in an innocent fairy tale and learnt to cope with pain and grief a bit more, some took a leap in the dark.

When the first light filters through the curtains Garcia and JJ are asleep on the sofa of JJ's living room, curled up in their partners' arms.  
Planning how to get information from their mutual friends about something they might not be aware of yet was draining.

Rossi has insisted on walking Natalie back home and he's grateful she has chosen the longest path on their way back. He enjoys talking to her, and is in love with her laugh so pure and sincere.  
He greets her not before having promised to come back for another round of whiskey, and he knows he's going to honor this promise.

Reid walks toward a cafeteria with Mel the witty brunette, they go on exchanging theories, anecdotes and statistics immune to the weight of the night.  
He's kind of surprised by the fact that he's not fidgety nor anxious, maybe this is the way you are supposed to feel when you find someone you like. This feeling of tickles going down your spine and insatiable curiosity of knowing more and more about this girl, without wishing to run away any second.

Hotch has fallen asleep near his son, a hint of a smile is surfacing on his face after a long time. Maybe soon he will be able to welcome these random moments of happiness as they come along even when conscious and awake. At some point Jack woke up and lent him a piece of his blanket before falling asleep again and dreaming of a lost princess rescued by a brave 'FBI knight'.

It's almost 6 a.m. when Derek walks back the isle with a grave expression on his face. He bought coffee as a lame excuse to come back at this hour and he thinks it was really stupid to find this last way to hide his real purpose behind a simple gesture of friendship, because at this time of the morning on a Sunday this is not likely to be welcomed as friendly. He delicately knocks the door, while a storm of thoughts is upsetting his mind. He pondered consequences and rules, what is right and what is wrong and after all this rational thinking what he's left with is just his instinct.  
But when few seconds after Emily opens the door with a mixture of worry, fear and joy painted on her face, nothing matters anymore and they both know that right or wrong the dice is cast.

They stand still for a while with their eyes locked sealing a silent deal, until she takes a step back to let him in and closes the door.

"This is SO WRONG" she smiles shivering while he gets closer.

And it's tender and warm and gentle and strong.

And it feels so right.

* * *

_So the story is finished, I hope you liked it... I am thinking of a sequel but I am not sure and anyway won't come soon, maybe you can let me know what you think about that... :)  
_

_Thank you so much to all who read and reviewed so far!_

_Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  
_


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